On October 4, 2013, Yahoo! Auto posted that Pet Safety and Subaru partnered together to test 11 dog seat belts. How many do you think made the cut and passed? Surprisingly, only one out of the 11 passed the safety test that prevented dogs from flying through the vehicle during a crash.

The dog seat belt test
The crash test dog dummies ranging in size from a 25-pound terrier mix to a 75-pound golden retriever. As stated earlier, 10 out of the 11 seat belts tested failed the crash test. These seat belts failed to keep the dog from moving too much in the event of an accident.

Which seat belt is safe for your pet?
The one seat belt that passed was the Sleepypods "Clickit" three-point safety harness. Although these harnesses help protect our pets, they are on the pricey side. They range in price from $89.99 to $99.99. They come in four sizes: extra small, small, medium and large. They also come in three different colors: black, orange and red. Subaru said that they are going to offer the "Sleepypods Clickit" animal safety harness as an accessory in their new vehicles.

As a Kentucky Dog Accident Attorney, I love taking my dog on car trips with me. However, dogs in cars can be very dangerous. One, they can distract you while you are driving. I have an example of this. My daughter was involved in a fender bender because the kitten she was fostering was scratching at the box it was traveling in and diverted her eyes from the road. They can be as dangerous as texting. Another reason it can be dangerous to travel with a dog is because the dog or pet is often unrestrained in the vehicle. They are moving all over the car, constantly sticking their head out the window. This may seem harmless, but if you get into an accident, your pet is going to suffer from severe injuries because they are unrestrained. Pet seat belts or using a carrier and seat belt will help keep our pets safe on car trips.

Michael A. Schafer and The Schafer Law Office represents clients and accident victims throughout Kentucky including Louisville, Lexington, LaGrange, Shepherdsville, Taylorsville, Shelbyville, Brandenburg, Elizabethtown, Frankfort, Carrolton, Bardstown, Munfordville, New Castle, Richmond, Bowling Green, St. Matthews, Prospect, Shively, Fairdale, Middletown, Douglas Hills, Valley Station and Pleasure Ridge Park. Cases are also handled in Jefferson County, Bullitt County, Oldham County, Shelby County, Hardin County, Spencer County, Fayette County, Franklin County, Carrol County, Henry County, Madison County, Nelson County, Anderson County, Trimble County, Larue County, Hart County and Meade County, Kentucky.